Life preserver



March 11, 1930. M. PoPEscu LIFE PRESERVER Filed July 15, 1929 WTQR M a, ATTNEY Z4 Z0 Z 3 26 -12 Patented Mar. 11 1930 PATENT OFFICE MARIN POPESCU, OF BUCHARES'I', RUMANIA LIFE PtensnnvER Application filed my 15',

This invention relates to life preservers that are supplied to passengers of ships, for their individual use in case of sinking of the vessel, and its principal object is to provide 5 a reliable and eflicient device for this purpose.

Hereto-l'ore, life preservers were designed to be worn by the person, usually about the chest, and these devices were generally stored 1 0 away for use in the emergency. According to this invention the life preserver comprises a sort of marine vehicle, in which the passenger sits astride and is supported by eiiic'ie'nt floats located at the front and rear of 111111, and when the life preserver is not in use it folds up completely to constitute a utilizab-le stool or steamer chair, thereby rendering a constant service and being normally in continuous control-of and use by the passenger.

Other objects and advantages will hereina-fter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,-

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing the life preserver of this invention as 1t appears when completely folded up to constitute a service'- able steamer chair.

F ig. 2 is a side elevation of the life pie: server and chairshown in Fig. 1'.

Fig. 3 is a front elevationofthe life pre-' server shown in Fig. 1, as it appears when it is set up to serve its prime function of a life preserver.

Figs. 4 and 5 show'details of the invention.

The life preserver comprises a chair 1 of seat 2 is secured an inverted saddle 1. T0 each pair of legs 3 is secured a pa1 -r of arms5, to the terminals 6 of which 1s pivotally joined a float 7 Each cooperating pair" of arms 5 is secured in place by means of a bolt-rod 8, having a head 9 and a threaded end 10, Fig. 4, passingclear through the two lower portions 11 of-the legs 3, holes-12 of the arms 5, and a hole 13 of a flange 14: secured toone of the legs by screws 15. A wing-nut 16 threads over the rod-end 10 and against one of the end-portions 17 of one of the arms 5." In the leg-portion 11 to which the flange 14c is-secured'is formed a hole 18 in registry with the hole'ld' andin having a seat 2 and legs 3, and to the underside 1929. Serial No. 378,285.

the hole 18 is located a helical spring 19' which is wound around the rod 8 and normally bears against tht leg-portion 11 and the armpo-rtion 17. The flange 14 is provided with a series of holes 20, Figs. 4, 5, that are circularly arranged and concentric with its hole 13, and the arm-portion 17 carries a pair of pins 21 which may be inserted into any diametrically opposite pair of the holes 20', as shown in Fig. 4, to thereby set the arms 5 at any desired position angularly to the chairlegs 3. When the arms 5 are thus set and the wing-nut 16' is tightened, the bolt-head 9 is thereby drawn against its arm 5 and the wing-nutis forced against the arm portion 1 7 to retain the pins 21 in the holes 20, and the arms with the depending float 6 are in this manner retained and locked in the desired set position.

When the life preserver is not used to carry out its vital function, and is rather utilized as an ordinary steamer chair, its arms 5 are disposed as shown in Fig-'.- 1 and its floats 7 are retained under the seat 2, and the nuts 16 are tightened to maintainthese parts in the manner shown, with the float'sne'atly out of the-way. If it is'desired to retain a firmer hold of the floats against the legs 3, elastic bands 22 may he slipped over these'partsin' the manner shown in Figs. 1-, 2.

VVhenit is desired to utilize the life preserver in case of emergency, the chair 1 is inverted, the bands 22 are slipped oil, and thewing iiuts 16 are unthreaded to permit the spring 19 to force away the. arm-portion 17 and withdraw its pins-21 out of the lOclring holes 20 of the flange 14. The arms 5 may be then turned around to the outward position shown in Fig. 3 and the wing-nuts 16'may be tightened to retain them in that position, witlrthe floats 7 disposed above the inverted chair'. Thereupon the entire device may be placed-or thrown into the water, inwhich case it will-at once assume the position shown in Fig. 3 under any and all circumstances; viz, the chair 1' will beinverted and submerged and will be retained uprightly by the floats 7 which will be buoyed up inthe level' position shown at the approximate water level 23. The passengermay then seat himself upon the saddle 4L and astride the chair seat 2, with the float 7 positioned in front of him and one at his rear, and be thereby safely and securely buoyed up in perfectly level state until rescue arrives. Should strong waves in any way tend to upset the life preserver and passenger the device will at once automatically right itself, due to the low centre of gravity of the chair and passenger, who is mostly submerged, and the pivotal relation of the arms 5 to the floats 7 at 6, which arms in this,

case act as free suspenders for the chair and passenger.

It will be noted that by means of setting the arms 5 at various angularities the extent of submergence of the chair 1 may be adjusted, either upwardly or downwardly relatively to the floats 7, and in this manner the device may be set or adjusted to suit passengers of different sizes. Each float 7 is preferably made of sheet-metal and hollow, and preferably is made of plurality of secured sections or chambers 7, so that if one chamber is by any accident punctured the remaining chambers will continue to be operative and buoy up the preserver and passenger. One of the chambers 7 may be preferably provided with a shutter 52 i hinged at 25 and bolted at 26, whereby food or othervital articles may be enclosed therein and rendered available to the distressed passenger.

It will be evident that with this life areserver the distressed passenger may be seated in comfort and level position, and be safely and securely sustained until rescue arrives. lVhen this life p eserver is used as a chair it not only completely saves the space ordinarily reserved on board ships for the special storage of life preservers, but by being constantly in the control of and utilized by the passenger it imparts to him such familiarity with its uses and purpose for the emergency that when the latter occurs he finds himself able to manipulate it, and he is without the psychological fear ordinarily engendered when the distressed passenger is suddenly confronted with the problem of donning, what appears to him, a strange life preserving contrivance.

The chair may be so constructed that the normal weight of its seat will create a low centre of gravity which will automatically dispose the chair-part of the life preserver n its required inverted position shown in Fig. 3 when thrown into the water, but if required such automatic disposition of the chair and preserver may be insured by inserting a coupter-weight 27 consisting of metal mto tne seat structure.

Variations may be resorted to W1th1n the scope of the invention, and portions of the invention may be used without others.

Having thus described my lnvention, I claim 1. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, and a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair.

2. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the up per end of said inverted chair, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, and said arms being joined to the chair.

8. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, and each of said floats comprising a plurality of independent chambers.

4. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, each of said floats comprising a plurality of independent chambers, and one of said chambers being adapted to contain food and having a shutter for opening and closing it.

5. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, and the inverted side of said seat having a saddle like structure to receive the person in astride sitting position.

(9. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in astride sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, and one of said floats being located in front of the person and the other at the rear of the person.

7. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, and said seat being weighted to insure the disposition of the chair in inverted state and the said upward relative location of said floats.

8. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, said seat being weighted to insure the disposition ot' the chair in inverted state and said upward relative location of said floats, the inverted side of said seat having a saddle like structure to receive the person in astride sitting position, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, said arms being joined to the chair, and one of said floats being located in front of the person and the other at the rear of the person.

9. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, said seat being Weighted to insure the disposition of the chair in inverted state and the said upward relative location of said floats, the inverted side of said seat having a saddle like structure to receive the person in astride sitting position, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, said arms being joined to the chair, one of said floats being located in front of the person and the other at the rear of the person, and each of said floats comprising a plurality of independent chambers.

10. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state,

the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, said seat being Weighted to insure the disposition of the chair in inverted state and the said upward relative location of said floats, the inverted side of said seat having a saddle like structure to receive the person in astride sitting position, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, said arms being joined to the chair, one of said floats beinglocated in front of the person and the other at the rear of the person, each of said floats comprising a plurality of independent chambers, and one of said chambers being adapted to contain food and having a shutter for opening and closing it.

11. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being joined to the chair, and means to adjust the elevation of said floats relatively to said inverted chair.

12. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, said arms being oined to the chair, and means to release the oint of said arms and chair to permit disposal of the floats Within the chair under its seat to convert the device to chair use when not acting as a life preserver.

13. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the inverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, said arms being olned to the chair, means to release the joint of said arms and chair to permit disposal ot the floats Within the chair under its seat to convert the device to chair use when not acting as a life preserver, and means to retain the floats and chair in said converted state.

14. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the nverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sitting position, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being oined to the chair, and means to release the oint of said arms and chair to permit disposal of the floats Within the chair under its seat to convert the device to chair use When not acting as a life preserver.

15. A life preserver comprising a chair adapted to be submerged in inverted state, the nverted seat of said chair adapted to receive a person in sittingposition, a pair of oppositely disposed floats located at the upper end of said inverted chair and being oined to the chair, each of said floats being pivoted to arms, and each of said arms adapted to be oined to the chair at a plurality of places to adjust the elevation of said floats relatively to said inverted chair.

Signed at Bucharest, Rumania, this 21st day of June, A. D. 1929.

MARIN POPESCU. 

